EU 'hopes' to open accession talks with Macedonia this year

The EU on Wednesday (9 April) said it hopes EU accession talks with Macedonia can be opened by the end of this year - provided that the country speeds up its reform process.

"We hope that [EU accession] negotiations are going to be open this year" with Skopje, said Janez Lenarcic, state secretary for European affairs for Slovenia, which holds the rotating EU presidency, in the European Parliament's plenary session in Brussels.

"We hope to initiate the accession process as soon as ...